Slammer: Emilie Zoey Baker gives her best in last year’s poetry slam.
ERIN PEARSON
POETS, hip-hop artists and outspoken wordsmiths have been invited to polish their rhymes and lyrics for the Geelong regional heat of a 2011 Australian Poetry Slam.
Billed as part of Australia’s largest slam poetry competition, the Victorian heats will run from October 26 to November 9.
Victorian heats host Emilie Zoey Baker said slam poetry was exciting, immediate, eventful, passionate, often controversial and always entertaining.
“A slam is a poetry battle. It’s two minutes of on-stage fire where writers, comedians, lyricists, rappers and poets unload their best work in front of a single mic,” she said.
“The judges are picked at random and hold up a score out of 10 for each performer.
“The prizes are unbelievable, think sipping on a Long Island Iced Tea while listening to poetry in the pool, all for a two-minute poem.”
Geelong Regional Library Corporation chair and councillor Rod Macdonald said this year would be the second time the city had hosted a heat of the Australian Poetry Slam
“I encourage our talented local artists to get along and make their mark,” he said.
Two finalists from each heat will battle it out at the Victorian final at State Library of Victoria on November 18.
The Victorian winner and runner-up will compete in a national final at New South Wales’ Sydney Theatre on November 27.
Organisers said the Australian champion would win a tour of China as part of a Bookworm International Literary Festival and be invited to participate in a Ubud International Writers and Readers Festival in Bali.
The prizes were worth about $11,000 in flights, accommodation, expenses and performers fees.
Organisers said entries and audience seats were available at geelonglibraries.vic.gov.au.
Geelong City Library will host the regional heat on October 27.
